Orange County might put a 600-bed homeless shelter in this industrial building in Santa Ana

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People get haircuts during the Homeless Connect mini resource fair at The Courtyard shelter in Santa Ana, CA on Friday, June 30, 2017. County officials are looking at a large industrial building in south Santa Ana that would replace the Courtyard. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Orange County is eyeing a 62,000-square-foot industrial building in an area south of Centennial Regional Park as the potential site of a 600-bed homeless shelter that would be a joint operation with the city of Santa Ana.

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Nov. 20, unanimously approved pursuing a $12.25 million purchase agreement with Omega Engineering, Inc. for the building at 2229 S. Yale Street, Santa Ana.

Called The Link, the temporary site was converted from a vacant industrial building off Red Hill Avenue in 28 days, a feat that county supervisors mentioned in their remarks on the purchase of the Yale Street building.

“Jump on this thing and get it done,” Supervisor Shawn Nelson said in urging quick but diligent action to put the Yale Street property to use.

Not just a shelter

In the purchase agreement the board approved on Tuesday, the building is not specifically earmarked for a homeless shelter. Documents only state that the acquisition is being considered “To provide a facility for community services within central Orange County.”

County spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said after the board meeting that staff will be assessing the feasibility of the structure and what it can be used for.

She said those inspections will likely take until the end of the year, and the purchase could be completed in early 2019.

“It could be used as a shelter, but we have storage needs at the county as well,” Nichelson said.

Board Chairman Andrew Do, whose First District encompasses the Yale Street site, said the county could learn from the example of Santa Ana city staff in the collaborative approach they took among themselves and with service provider Mercy House to open The Link shelter.

But he also cautioned that a permanent shelter site would have different criteria from a temporary site.

Theresa Walker is a Southern California native who has been a staff writer at The Orange County Register since 1992. She specializes in human interest stories and social issues, such as homelessness. She also covers nonprofits and philanthropy in Orange County. She loves telling stories about ordinary people who do the extraordinary in their communities.

Jordan Graham covers congressional politics and county government for the Orange County Register. He began his career reporting freelance civic and watchdog journalism in his hometown of Chicago before moving westward in 2013. He has previously covered Irvine, the San Fernando Valley and Costa Mesa for the Register. He is a graduate of University of Illinois and Northwestern University. Please email or call him with news tips.